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West Indies transport woes strike at last
By Scott last year, at the end of April, 1 Comment »
The great fear about the 2007 World Cup, brought to you by the ICC and a list of Corporate Partnersâ„¢ as long as your arm, was that the transport infrastructure might not be able to cope. In the wake of constant fumbling by the ICC, these fears have been overshadowed, and there have not been any great cock=ups.
It was better to be a piece of luggage than a player - Australia’s luggage was sent on a 40-minute direct flight from Grenada to St Lucia while players were five hours in transit after having to go through Barbados.
South Africa’s luggage beat the team to St Lucia by two hours, after the travel-weary Proteas arrived last night three hours behind schedule.
At one stage in Grenada, the Australian, New Zealand and Sri Lankan players disembarked the flight after waiting for 30 minutes in their seats before being summoned back on board as it left 95 minutes late.
The pilot of the charter flight apologised on the tarmac and the players were starting to wonder whether the pilot may have lost his bearings when he signed off with “goodnight”.
It was noon.
Room was so tight on the flight from Barbados to Grenada that some players, including Matthew Hayden, struggled to find room to put their feet.
The Sri Lankans and New Zealanders were more disadvantaged because they are playing tonight (AEST), whereas Australia does not play South Africa until tomorrow night.
One Sri Lankan player quipped: “The way we are going our first look at the ground will be on match morning - from about 6000 feet.”
Whoops!
1 Comment »The monthly rant: London buses
By Will 2 years ago, mid-June, 5 Comments »
It’s been a while since I chastised a public service, or an entire continent - so I just thought I’d get this off my chest. Buses.
What’s worse; a bus driver who never lets anyone on, or one who lets everyone on? THE LATTER and here’s why. When I’m on the bus, I don’t really care about anyone else getting on. Selfish, perhaps, but commuting in London requires a degree of focus and single-minded bastardness (”get out of my way you suit/beggar/pushchair/”). Bah. Pushchairs - that’s for next month, definately. Their owners think they have licence to rip your ankles to shreds, repeatedly, so long as little Johnny doesn’t have to walk a few metres, I mean honestly - get out of my bloody way.
On my very lengthy journey home of at least two miles, the 72 was driven by the world’s chattiest driver. Normally I’d welcome such a cheery and charitable fellow - but I was in a rush to get back home, get the kettle on and have my seventh cup of tea. (as it was, I ended up in the pub, but that’s by the by). Everyone was allowed on the bus. Everyone. It was heaving and groaning under the sweaty mass of countless exhausted workers and grotty teenagers.
Just when one of Transport for London’s Arks was about to buckle, the driver would notice a couple more people furiously waving their Oyster cards and unread-but-nevertheless-crumpled newspapers, demanding that the Ark stopped to allow them aboard. And it worked! On they came, usually in twos (just to really piss me off). The doors shut, handbrake lifted and off we went. NO! More. Brakes slammed on, door opened - and best of all, the apparently chipper driver hurried them on, “Quickly, quick quick, come on”. Needless to say, my silent prayers that he would ignore the fledgling, desperate commuters fell on deaf ears.
I have never seen a bus so full. Thankfully, I’m tall enough to rise above the smell of London’s armpits. Unfortunately for everyone else, I had a very late and drunken evening last night and didn’t have a shower this morning, so unleashed my whiff on the greedy buggers delaying my journey.
God this is fun, ranting without cause or reason. I’ll promise to limit it to once a month. Meanwhile - aren’t England rubbish at the moment?
Disclaimer: despite today’s trouble, I actually have very very few problems with London’s transport system. The Tube is still better suited for Noah’s flock than us lot - ha! well no! Because actually, cattle can’t be transported over 30c or something, and the Tube in the summer rises to an Egyptian 39c - but it does work, for me. And the buses, while crammed, hardly ever let me down.
5 Comments »India and Pakistan resume train links for cricket fans
By Will 3 years ago, at the start of March, 1 Comment »
Via BBC:. An excellent example of cricket’s/sport’s ability to mend bridges…
1 Comment »India and Pakistan have agreed to run special trains carrying cricket fans from Lahore to Chandigarh for the first cricket Test match next week.
The match is expected to draw thousands across the border. About 7,500 tickets have gone on sale in Lahore.
India and Pakistan resumed train links in January last year with a service from Lahore to the border station of Attari.
Rail links between the two nuclear rivals had been suspended for two years amid deteriorating relations.
